Charity behind dinosaur sculpture trail partnering with MP's festival
Break's relationship development manager Michael Rooney, CEO Rachel Cowdry, and George Freeman MP met in Norwich's Cathedral Close to see the sculptures. - Credit: Noah Vickers
A Norfolk charity is set to build on the success of its popular dinosaur sculpture trail by partnering with a local MP’s enterprise festival.
Break, a charity supporting vulnerable children, young people and families, have recently launched their GoGo Discover art trail of 21 dinosaurs across Norwich, which lead visitors to the cathedral, where Dippy the Diplodocus is currently on loan from the Natural History Museum.
Mid-Norfolk MP George Freeman, who has been working with the charity for several years, has announced that his annual Norfolk Enterprise Festival will be partnering with Break in the summer of 2022.
“[For] our next festival we’ll be partnering with Break as our partner charity. Last year we had to cancel, but the one before we had 2000 people, so we hope, post-Covid we’ll have 2000 or 3000 people there,” said Mr Freeman.
The MP pointed out that there are 1000 children in care in Norfolk at any one time, whose outcomes are often directly affected by the start in life they’re given.
“Once the pandemic is over, the vulnerable continue to be vulnerable, and they need our continuing support,” said Mr Freeman.
Praising the dinosaur trail, he added: “These sculptures are magnificent - they’re spectacular pieces of art, made by local artists.”
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Each sculpture has been sponsored by local businesses, and most will be sold at auction next year to raise funds for the charity.
George Freeman MP was full of praise for Break's Gogo Discover dinosaur trail - Credit: Noah Vickers
“It’s a brilliant project and I think it embodies so much of the breadth of Norfolk and what we need to do - in the end, these youngsters in care are our youngsters, they’re Norfolk’s youngsters and we all owe them a helping hand,” said Mr Freeman.
“You only have to stand round the sculptures for two minutes to see everything they bring,” said Michael Rooney, relationship development manager at Break.
“They’re multigenerational as well, you haven’t got adults being dragged around by the children or children being fed up and dragged around by adults, because there’s something in them for all ages.”
Break CEO Rachel Cowdry said: “We have shops that help us raise money, we have the sculpture trails, and our fundraising, but we’ve lost a lot of money over the Covid period, so we’re just hoping for a real success with these trails.”
